US asks China and Russia to declare that only humans, not AI, control nuclear weapons

A senior US official on Thursday called on China and Russia to live up to statements by the US and other countries that only humans, and never artificial intelligence, would make decisions about the use of nuclear weapons.

The US State Department's arms control officer, Paul Dean, said in an online statement that Washington had made a “clear and strong commitment” that humans had full control over nuclear weapons, adding that France and Britain they did the same.

“We would welcome a similar statement from China and the Russian Federation,” said Dean, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Department of Arms Control, Deterrence and Stability.

“We think it is an extremely important standard of responsible behavior and we think it is something that would be very welcome in a P5 context,” he said, referring to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Dean's remarks come as U.S. President Joe Biden's administration seeks to deepen separate discussions with China over nuclear weapons policy and the growth of artificial intelligence.

The Chinese Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The spread of artificial intelligence technology emerged during wide-ranging talks between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on April 26.

The two sides agreed to hold their first bilateral talks on artificial intelligence in the coming weeks, Blinken said, adding that they would share views on how best to manage risks and security around the technology.

As part of the normalization of military communications, U.S. and Chinese officials resumed discussions on nuclear weapons in January, but formal arms control talks are not expected any time soon.

China, which is expanding its nuclear weapons capabilities, called in February for major nuclear powers to first negotiate a no-first-use treaty among themselves.